Bangladesh seizes RM174m assets from alleged labour syndicate leader
The Bangladeshi police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had seized assets worth Tk 5 billion (RM174 million) belonging to Ruhul Amin Swapan, who is alleged to be the mastermind behind the syndicate sending migrant labourers to Malaysia.
This comes after the Metropolitan Dhaka Sessions Court allowed an application submitted by the Bangladeshi Financial Crimes CID to pursue a seizure of assets.
The Bangladeshi police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had seized assets worth Tk 5 billion (RM174 million) belonging to Ruhul Amin Swapan, who is alleged to be the mastermind behind the syndicate sending migrant labourers to Malaysia.
This comes after the Metropolitan Dhaka Sessions Court allowed an application submitted by the Bangladeshi Financial Crimes CID to pursue a seizure of assets.
Malaysiakini received a copy of the court order.
“Based on the matters mentioned, it is to be informed that the accused, Ruhul (alias Swapan), son of the late Abdul Karim and Rabeya Begum, is charged with extorting and abusing Tk 8,000 crore (RM278 million) through labour exploitation activities using a syndicate based in Malaysia.
“He is reported to have used the proceeds to purchase houses and lands, and had acquired a large amount of assets through money laundering,” the court order reads.
To ensure a fair and transparent probe, the court said it was necessary to seize the assets to ensure Ruhul and his institutions would not “transfer, change, hide or sell” the assets mentioned.
Yesterday, Bangladeshi CID Special Superintendent (Media) Jasim Uddin Khan confirmed that the Financial Crimes Department has applied for a court order to seize Ruhul’s assets.
In the statement, sighted by Malaysiakini, Jasim also mentions that Ruhul’s recruitment agency, Catharsis International, owns four acres of land in housing areas in Bashundhara, Dhaka, Banani, and Uttara under seven different deeds.
“Though the deeds indicate the properties are worth Tk 15.55 crore, the land value, including the infrastructure built on them, is worth Tk 500 crore,” he said.
Jasim added that investigations on Ruhul and other syndicate members are ongoing, and action will be taken under Bangladesh’s Money Laundering Act.
When contacted, Ruhul denied the allegations levelled against him.
“Though we legally acquired the assets, it was unfairly seized by the government.
“There is no abuse of power or illegal activity (from our part). Our assets were seized before any case was filed against us,” he claimed.
VIPs released
The Bangladeshi CID submitted a final report to the Dhaka court last month about another investigation into human trafficking, involving several VIPs.
On July 15, the Bangladeshi CID released a former minister, a former secretary, ex-lawmakers and over 100 owners of recruitment agencies, who were earlier implicated in human trafficking allegations and money laundering activity involving the migrant labour recruitment process, after a request from the Malaysian government.
According to a Malaysian official who requested anonymity, the decision was reached during a meeting on July 17 in Kuala Lumpur, involving representatives of the Bangladeshi government and the Malaysian Human Resources Ministry.
Malaysiakini was informed that the meeting was held after the Human Resources Ministry sent a letter to its Bangladeshi counterpart to halt its investigations, alleging that it was baseless.
The Human Resources Ministry had denied the meeting but did not elaborate on the letter.
However, the main complainant against the alleged human trafficking syndicate in Bangladesh, businessperson Altab Khan, urged his government to continue with the investigations.
